Share the Praise.....words by Josh Hinds!

Hi Guys!

After a weird sort of stressed/agitated day I have decided to share some lovely words, written by a guy called Josh Hinds.
Read it and see where you can apply this with your relationship with your dogs, and see how it will benefit :-)

The Unseen Benefits of Doing Good
By Josh Hinds

I dare say that every day brings with it the opportunity to
share a kind act with another. Yet, if we're honest with
ourselves we can all recount a time where we have neglected
to do so. With life moving so fast, and all the demands it
can place on us it is no wonder we end up forgetting to pass
out those kind gestures from time to time.

Unfortunately, if we neglect to do so we also miss out on
the many benefits which are afforded to those who take the
time to do so. Not the least of which is the unique feeling
of happiness and fulfillment.

We justify our not giving a kind word or act by telling
ourselves all the reasons why the other person is
undeserving of our favorable treatment. What is perhaps most
sad is that when you give of yourself in the form of some
kindness you can't help but benefit from your gift of
kindness as well. It is a strange phenomena indeed. As you
give, so you receive. It's as though you put yourself into a
mode that allows you to better receive in kind what you have
given. I don't claim to fully understand how it works, but
I've seen it come to pass enough to know there's truth in
it. I imagine you've seen it happen that way too, right?

There is something very empowering about taking the focus
off yourself, if even for just a moment -- and placing it on
another strictly with the intention of making them feel good
or empowering them. Think back to a time where someone gave
you an encouraging word. Consider also how it made you feel
when you passed along that encouraging word to another. It
made you light up just a bit even though you weren't the one
on the receiving end didn't it?

That's the essence of what I'm suggesting here. Throughout
your day make a conscious effort to give deserving praise.
If you will make the choice to do so you can transform the
place you work and live. You can transform the interactions
you have with those in your life -- both personally and
professionally. It's not magic, rather it comes to pass over
time, sometimes slow, and other times they appear to pass in
the blink of an eye.

The benefits and the satisfaction we gain from doing acts of
kindness are vast -- and often beyond what we can possibly
comprehend. Life truly is like a boomerang, the more good
you throw out, the more you shall find that it makes its way
back to you.

The point isn't to be perfect. You will have moments where
you will miss the mark. Where you will look back and know
you should done this or that. That's what I like to refer to
as being human. We're not perfect and I dare say we couldn't
be even if we tried. That said, such a pursuit is
worthwhile, for as Les Brown so wisely said, "shoot for the
moon and if you miss you will still be among the stars" --
and that my friend is worth considering.

It's your life, LIVE BIG!
Josh Hinds

Aggression is only a symptom...........

The other day I met a gentleman, and his recently rescued dog, Rover over our local park.

I had met Rover before when he was being fostered for a few weeks so I was aware when I came across him that he had only had him a few weeks.

When I asked him how it was going he said 'fine but he is aggressive'. This prompted me to ask many questions such as to when Rover shows the symptom of aggression, how and does aggression improve the result for rover.

The gentleman was very sweet and mentioned about the training techniques the guy was using who was fostering him before and the 'aftercare advice' he was giving to this lovely family.

They had been told to stand over him and be 'domineering' and also been advised to watch the ever so popular dog training program on the TV, by the guy who I would refer to as Marmite....you either love him or hate him!

Marmite I used to LOVE years ago before I learnt and studied what I have now. I used to be the gullible dog owner who would rave about his techniques and how he would always get the dog to do what he wanted!

Little did I know then that Marmite was using the techniques of Positive Punishment and Flooding. Both of these techniques DO NOT address the lying emotion of the dog when expressing the 'problem' behaviours.

Marmite is a very charismatic gentleman and the editing of the show is somewhat 'Sexy TV', showing quick results and advises owners to not try these techniques at home.

How on earth can families modify thier dogs behaviour if not allowed to try them at home?! Surely that should ring alarm bells?

What I would like to see is an education at a media level and all Television companies, as the media has a powerful effect on the population. If Marmite wasnt aired on the TV, I am SURE there wouldn't be as many 'aggression' related problems in the world and also a lot less dogs with stupid bl@@dy shock collars around their neck, and an approach of treat the root cause NOT the symptoms.

Why mask the symptoms with intimidating behaviour, leading to further escalated problems and suppression of emotions. Shutting the dog down and making the dog completely miserable, and fearful to offer ANY behaviour in fear it will be reprimanded, and punished.

I do wish humans would obey the law and only give out behavioural advice ONLY if they are QUALIFIED and EXPERIENCED in the field and to ALWAYS sought veterinnary approval beforehand to rule out any clinical physical reason as to why the dog may be exhibiting these behaviours. You know how it is to have a major toothache, it makes you grouchy right?!.....

To address and modify effectively any dogs behaviour you need to address the underlying emotion at the time of the behaviour being displayed. This can be done using positive reinforcement and respondent conditioning, with LOTS of time, LOVE, patience, CONSISTENCY and a clear plan of how to go about it.

Afterall, EMOTIONS drive BEHAVIOUR , and vice versa BEHAVIOUR drives EMOTIONS.

Change the underlying emotion and bingo it changes the behaviour!

Aggression is just a symptom, it is NOT a reason. Look at what is driving the symptoms.....

Please note it is also important to look at this as a whole and every dog as an individual case, taking into account things such as diet, genetics, past learnt behaviours, owner intervention, management, medical reasons etc, as these can all contribute to behavioural problems.

The most important thing to remember is to always take advice from a professional!